M4 to Giulia Quadrifoglio

[wj100]

Hi all,

I'm a previous E90 and F82 driver and about a month ago I traded my M4 for an Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio. It was tough for me to leave the BMW brand, but I knew the new M3/M4 was too far off in the distance to wait. So, I decided to give the Alfa a try. I had some concerns before I made the purchase:

* Would be settling with the ZF auto versus the incredible DCT in the M4?
* Would I be annoyed by an inferior infotainment system?
* Could I live without the HUD?
* Would the dealer experience be up to par?
* And a few others...

My feedback after a month? None of that stuff matters. The Alfa is the best driver's car I've ever driven and I say that with some pain because of how much I love BMW's. If you are considering looking at a non-M product, do yourself a favor and drive the Alfa.

Every time I get out of the car I walk away shaking my head. I don't know how they made it this good...

[dawei213]

Can you elaborate what about the car makes you go, to paraphrase, "Wow, this car is freaking awesome!"?

[RickFLM4]

https://f80.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh....php?t=1324165
https://f80.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh....php?t=1547866

[elinstylez]

It's good to hear your experience coming from M cars. I have respect for the Alfa's performance but I really dislike the looks of the front end. That and the lack of a manual transmission makes the F80 the winner in my book.

[Darth One]

Originally Posted by elinstylez

I have respect for the Alfa's performance but I really dislike the looks of the front end.

It's a little, uh....vaginal

There's a huge thread somewhere full of former BMW, now Alfa owners praising their cars so OP, you're not alone in this. I personally am gonna wait until the next generation to see if they've finally figured out how to make a long-term reliable car

[six-n-twins53]

What is your opinion of the brakes? They got really bad reviews for daily driveability.

[Humdizzle]

its definitely a more emotional experience in the alfa. Ferrari probably had a big hand in that. BMW unfortunately looks up to the i8 as their brands supercar. But there are still some drawbacks that would keep me away:

1) lack of dealer network. closest one to me is 2 hours away.
2) no manual for the USA.
3) lack of aftermarket support

[wj100]

Originally Posted by six-n-twins53

What is your opinion of the brakes? They got really bad reviews for daily driveability.

I had read about the brakes as well and definitely noticed the odd sensation of the brake by wire system upon test drive. I spent some time on the Alfa forums and most people said that you get used to them after a while.

After owning the car for about a month I can say this is mostly true. My brain has adjusted and I'm finding the brakes much easier to modulate. Definitely takes some getting used to though and it probably would have been better if they had just gone with a conventional braking system. The rest of the driving dynamics make up for it in spades though.

[wj100]

Originally Posted by dawei213

Can you elaborate what about the car makes you go, to paraphrase, "Wow, this car is freaking awesome!"?

It's hard to describe in words I guess. It was a bit unexpected because of how much I loved my M4. I think the best way to describe it is that the Alfa just feels more alive? It's faster, feels lighter (even though it isn't), and just way more responsive in a way I didn't really think possible.

Again, it sort of pains me to say this because of how much I love M cars.

[Darth One]

Lol don't be sorry when someone else challenges BMW and builds a better enthusiast car than them. Maybe it's a wake up call.

Or if they go "meh" and go back to building the X2.5 and the M-sport 240i xdrive CS competition edition, then at least we have other options

[parabmw]

The couple version is the one to wait for and by then hopefully all the quirks and issues are worked out. Reliability is a major concern for me.
Why they went with 18" wheels as standard is odd when all performance cars have 19 as standard.

[mcc3456]

Originally Posted by parabmw

The couple version is the one to wait for and by then hopefully all the quirks and issues are worked out. Reliability is a major concern for me.
Why they went with 18" wheels as standard is odd when all performance cars have 19 as standard.

The Alfa Giulia QV only comes on 19” wheels, or 20” in the case of the Stelvio QV.

[///M4ster Yoda]

Originally Posted by parabmw

The couple version is the one to wait for and by then hopefully all the quirks and issues are worked out. Reliability is a major concern for me.
Why they went with 18" wheels as standard is odd when all performance cars have 19 as standard.

The F80/82 has 18 513s as standard. Just saying.

[Rambler]

Thanks OP for sharing your perspective. No wrong decision either way. I fully understand the desire others have for a manual or concerns about a first gen model. One aspect in favor of going with this gen is that any subsequent gen is unlikely to have the special touches of the Ferrari skunkworks team of engineers. The next gen can certainly build upon those traits but it could also lose some of that intangible goodness of the Ferrari ferry dust!

Also, regarding reliability, if this happens with Alfa’s driveshaft, the internet will explode with more laughter and criticism of Alfa’s reliability. Personally, I don’t hold it against bmw for this and glad to see they are addressing it, but just pointing out that if it were Alfa...

https://www.autoblog.com/2018/10/31/...l-driveshafts/

[Fuller]

Originally Posted by weinerj100

Hi all,

I'm a previous E90 and F82 driver and about a month ago I traded my M4 for an Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio. It was tough for me to leave the BMW brand, but I knew the new M3/M4 was too far off in the distance to wait. So, I decided to give the Alfa a try. I had some concerns before I made the purchase:

* Would be settling with the ZF auto versus the incredible DCT in the M4?
* Would I be annoyed by an inferior infotainment system?
* Could I live without the HUD?
* Would the dealer experience be up to par?
* And a few others...

My feedback after a month? None of that stuff matters. The Alfa is the best driver's car I've ever driven and I say that with some pain because of how much I love BMW's. If you are considering looking at a non-M product, do yourself a favor and drive the Alfa.

Every time I get out of the car I walk away shaking my head. I don't know how they made it this good...

Great, well rounded review. Thanks.

[Tacoma]

Originally Posted by Rambler

Also, regarding reliability, if this happens with Alfa’s driveshaft, the internet will explode with more laughter and criticism of Alfa’s reliability. Personally, I don’t hold it against bmw for this and glad to see they are addressing it, but just pointing out that if it were Alfa...

https://www.autoblog.com/2018/10/31/...l-driveshafts/

You're wrong. If this happened with Alfa's driveshaft, the internet would be saying, is this news? Fact is quality issues with Alfa's isn't news, it's the reason they stopped selling cars in North America since the 1990's. It's one of the reasons few people buy them today.

I acknowledge the Giulia QV probably drives better and is the better performer at least in some respects compared to the F80. But I never considered it because there have been too many reports of quality issues that reinforced the reputation and history of Alfas. It's like if reports say Lexus are boring to drive, it's not news because that's the way they've almost always been. Oh, and I didn't consider their F cars either.

Alfa should've had this nailed down tested and re-tested again before they came back to North America. It clearly didn't happen either because they couldn't or didn't bother and hoped that marketing it as a "Junior Ferrari" could make it sell itself. It hasn't.

Here in Toronto, they're nowhere to be seen. I've seen 3 QV's on the roads in my lifetime and one of them was in Florence when I was 2 weeks there driving all around Tuscany. That I can keep track of the few I've seen all over the world is an indication of their scarcity. If you check Guilia new inventory in Canada, there are still 2017's available and I bet they can be had heavily discounted.

If they drive as great as you owners say they drive and with the Ferrari pedigree, it shouldn't be this way. They should flying off the shelves instead of being stale inventory. So please don't pull the driveshaft recall card to question BMW quality. From the perspective of Alfa, that's the proverbial pot calling the kettle black.

[Rambler]

^ Ok, I’m wrong, BMW’s reliability record is flawless, my bad.

[Sparco]

As a prior QV owner, let me say this, its just different. The way BMW goes about building the ultimate driving machine is obviously extremely calculated, and disciplined. Alfa took a bit of a wild approach building a competitor that honestly just goes about its business differently. Performance is splitting hairs between the two. Steering, engine sound/feel and exhaust are the biggest differences. The tires for example have a 70 tread wear and this is a passenger street car. The gearbox is a fascinating experience and you'll see it in future M cars. DCT will go away. Fit and finish is below BMW standards and the dealer network is a work in progress. Overall just a different choice that is refreshing to see. Had I not moved to my 991 GT3, I would have kept it.

[six-n-twins53]

Originally Posted by weinerj100

I had read about the brakes as well and definitely noticed the odd sensation of the brake by wire system upon test drive. I spent some time on the Alfa forums and most people said that you get used to them after a while.

After owning the car for about a month I can say this is mostly true. My brain has adjusted and I'm finding the brakes much easier to modulate. Definitely takes some getting used to though and it probably would have been better if they had just gone with a conventional braking system. The rest of the driving dynamics make up for it in spades though.

Yeah, there were no qualms about driving the brakes hard, it was easy driving where the issues arose. Usually backwards! I figured when I read that, you probably have to get accustomed to them

[mcc3456]

Originally Posted by Rambler

^ Ok, I’m wrong, BMW’s reliability record is flawless, my bad.

At least no Giulia QVs have spontaneously combusted yet. Amazing how some folks gloss over such issues, yet hurl stones from their glass houses.

I see lots of comments on this Forum complaining of this rumored issue or that isolated issue as if every single car is experiencing the issue. As stated many times before, my QV has been absolutely trouble-free over my entire first 21 months of ownership. Have no reason to see anything changing that experience at this point.

Damn shame many people are so easily scared off by the unfair negativity surrounding new Alfa. It really is a very engaging drive...something that is extremely rare these days.

[Rambler]

Originally Posted by mcc3456

At least no Giulia QVs have spontaneously combusted yet. Amazing how some folks gloss over such issues, yet hurl stones from their glass houses.

I see lots of comments on this Forum complaining of this rumored issue or that isolated issue as if every single car is experiencing the issue. As stated many times before, my QV has been absolutely trouble-free over my entire first 21 months of ownership. Have no reason to see anything changing that experience at this point.

Damn shame many people are so easily scared off by the unfair negativity surrounding new Alfa. It really is a very engaging drive...something that is extremely rare these days.

+1, same here although it’s just been 6 months and approaching 6k miles for me.

[mcc3456]

Originally Posted by Rambler

+1, same here although it’s just been 6 months and approaching 6k miles for me.

Case in point to the prior post...based on some people’s logic, must mean all 7 Series are trash now that one has been profiled as being pretty problematic in the attached link, huh?

https://drivetribe.com/p/unlucky-bmw...source=organic